Southeast Notes: Magic, Hornets, Heat

Speaking to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Magic head coach Steve Clifford said that he and his staff are using the NBA’s layoff to “refresh mentally,” but admits he has spending some time every day on film study.

“You do get to watch film at a more leisurely pace when you don’t have a game coming up the next day, and there are certainly things that you can learn,” the Magic head coach said. “That will be part of all of our time. Then we’ll just start to plan for when, hopefully, we get to get back together.”

Clifford also spoke to Robbins about a handful of other topics, including how frequently he’s communicating with Magic players during the hiatus, the strides Markelle Fultz has taken this season, and the possibility of getting Al-Farouq Aminu and/or Jonathan Isaac back when play restarts. Clifford was noncommittal on potential return timelines for Aminu and Isaac.

“If those guys should come back, or one of them, obviously, that’d be great,” he said of the Magic’s injured forwards. “Both of them have been with us (on recent road trips and rehabbing at our facility). It would be like adding a new player from a talent standpoint.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

• In his latest mailbag for The Charlotte Observer, Rick Bonnell answers questions related to the Hornets‘ draft plans, the possibility of re-signing Bismack Biyombo during the offseason, and what’s next for Nicolas Batum.
• The Heat have uncovered some gems via two-way contracts, but it remains unclear what their plans going forward are for current two-way players Gabe Vincent and Kyle Alexander, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. As Winderman notes, now that Miami’s 15-man roster features young players like Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, and Chris Silva, there may be less flexibility to eventually promote Vincent or Alexander.
• In a separate story for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman examines how the Heat – like the rest of the NBA’s teams – intend to lean much more heavily on video scouting as the front office prepares for the 2020 draft.
• In case you missed it, we passed along a handful of Hawks rumors and notes earlier this morning.